Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Ghostboy may not contribute on a regular basis, but when he pops up and pipes in, it’s normally because he’s seen something eclectic or interesting, and today’s a double header that proves my point. Check it out...
Howdy,
I've recently had the pleasure of seeing two films which will undoubtedly rank among the best I've seen this year; both have been covered on this site before, and both deserve to be covered more. And more and more! So go see them the first chance you get and write your own reviews! Especially for the one I'm going to be covering first, which is certainly the best...
MAY
I love the dark and macabre, and I love it even more when it has a sense of humor. Here we have 'May,' a startlingly assured debut from writer/director Lucky McKee, who clearly knew exactly what he was up to when he made this wicked little film; you can almost hear him chuckling gleefully just outside of the frame.
This is the story of a little girl with a lazy eye (Angela Bettis) who has grown up, alone and unloved, into the lovely, shy and fragile titular character. Throughout her life, her only friend has been Suzy, a rather ghastly doll her mother made for her when she was little. She works as a
vetrinarian's assistant, where she uses her skills as a seamstress to sew up all the post-surgery pets. She also has a little habit of cutting herself with scalpels.
One day she sees Adam (Jeremy Sisto), a handsome young mechanic with beautiful hands. She begins to follow him around, trying to find the courage to ask him out on a date. She sews herself some attractive clothes, gets contacts to fix her lazy eye, and actually manages to approach him in a coffee shop -- while he's sleeping. Eventually, though, they make contact, and he seems to be a nice guy. "Do you think I'm weird?" she asks him. "I like weird," he replies. He does indeed -- he's an Argento fan and aspiring horror filmmaker. He shows her his student zombie film, but when she later tries to imitate it when they're making out, he realizes she's a little weirder than what he's used to.
He stops returning her calls. She's distraught at first, but pulls herself back together and tries to find solace in new things. She applies for a job teaching blind children, and she also finally succumbs to the wiles of her sexy coworker Polly (Anna Faris), whose idea of a subtle advance is "Hey, why don't you come over to my house and we can eat some melons?" Nothing works out too well, though, and May begins to crack, just ever so slightly...
This movie is like a truly twisted version of 'Amelie.' Just like that film, 'May' is sweet and romantic and funny and slightly surreal, but it has a real mean streak that is put to incredible effective use. McKee delights in playing with his audience; there are scenes in which a horrific outcome is very clear, but he plays with us, toys with us, tantalizing us with the delay of what we know is about to come. The culimination of the blind children subplot is a good example of this, or a certain scene involving scissors.
May is played by Angela Bettis, who has been in a few small parts in a few movies, but seems destined for stardom once this gem is released. Her performance alternates between haunting and vicious, sad and delightful. She resembles a gaunt, gothic Holly Hunter, an actress with whom she also shares a great amount of skill. Sisto also does nicely, and Faris proves that the flare she showed in the 'Scary Movie' films was no fluke.
The movie is lush and beautiful, with a wonderful burnished look from cinematographer Steve Yedlin. McKee never makes a mistake with his direction; his sense of composition and pacing are astonishing for a debut film, and a low budget one at that. This is one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long time, and it's not even a horror movie. It will make you cringe, it will give you the willies, but it will also make you laugh and cry and ultimately leave you smiling and feeling nice and warm inside. This is a movie that will be cherished by all the (in the words of Aimee Mann) freaks who suspect they could never love anyone -- and for the all people who really do love them.
LOST IN LA MANCHA
'Lost In La Mancha' is a documentary about Terry Gilliam and his failed efforts to achieve one of his many cinematic dreams: a film based on the legend of Don Quixote. We learn that this has been a goal of his for over ten years, and as the documentary begins, he is finally on the verge of going into production. What happens is a disaster, and after viewing this film, you may want to watch 'Hearts Of Darkness' (the classic documentary-disaster film about the making of 'Apocalypse Now') just to cheer up.
Or you could watch 'The Hamster Factor,' another excellent documentary about Gilliam by Kieth Fulton and Louis Pepe, the same team that made this one. That one chronicled the hectic-but-succesful production of '12 Monkeys,' and it provides great insight into the working process of a creative genius. Here, we get that same creative genius, only now he's involved on something that is from the very beginning in complete disarray in every area except his own head.
As the tale begins, Gilliam has set up the offices for his film, titled 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,' in Madrid. He has cast Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis, and, as Quixote, famed French actor Jean Rochefort (who spent seven months learning English for the part). He has found financing from a team of French investors, although the admittedly shoestring 40 million dollar budget has had to be lowered to an airtight 32.1 million, which leaves absolutely no room for error during production.
Error, however, is exactly what Gilliam runs into. The schedule is a nightmare, it's impossible to get any of the cast together for costume fittings or even a read through, and the whole crew senses that the project has been out of control from day one. Gilliam senses it too, but he remains optimistic and is convinced that once they begin shooting,
things will work out.
They don't, of course, and the first day of shooting is so problematic that it would seem hardly unlikely that Miguel Cervantes's ghost had something to do with the mishaps (we also learn that Orson Welles tried and failed to bring a version of the tale to the big screen). The first shot comes off beautifully - and we see it, and it is pure, classic Gilliam - but immediately after that, it is discovered that the extras are too unrehearsed to continue filming. So the crew moves on to another shot, which is quickly ruined by the scream of fighter jets from the nearby NATO air base. Gilliam decides to shoot anyway, because he can always do ADR in post. It's at that point that it starts to rain. Torrentially. In the desert. There's hail, too ,and the set turns into a river. By the time it dries out, the desert isn't even a desert anymore.
And that's just the first day.
Some may find these proceedings funny, and indeed they are presented with a sort of careening, apocalyptic humor. As a filmmaker, though, I found myself aghast, my hands to face and my head shaking in disbelief, and it left me more aware than ever that careful planning is absolutely essential when making a movie. It's never any fun when a project falls apart, but when it happens on such a promising project (and it was indeed promising, judging from the footage we see, which is pretty much all the footage that was ever shot) that is already so far along, it is just completely disheartening. A lot of our sympathy goes to Phil Patterson, the First Assistant Director who gracefully bears the brunt of the project.
But it is Gilliam, who has never made a bad film and has made quite a few great ones, whose loss is the greatest. There's nothing worse than failed dreams, even when one has succeeded as much as he has. He admits at one point that he's almost sixty two, and he will never be able to make all the films he wants to. Take a look at his repertoire, and tell me that isn't a damn shame.
That's it for this time. I believe both of these film are currently aiming for a gradual release in January, but you just might catch them at some festivals before then. See them as soon as possible...especially 'May.' Also, in the realm of self promotion, I've got a trailer for my own film on my website, and feedback is always welcome.
I'm outta here...
Ghostboy
Nicely done, man. It was weird seeing Angela Bettis in the commercials for NBC’s TV remake of CARRIE, since MAY plays, in some ways, like a bent and twisted reworking of that film and character. MAY’s an original film, though, and Bettis really does make it all worthwhile. Can’t believe I still haven’t seen LOST IN LA MANCHA and just missed another opportunity on Friday night. Soon... I swear... soooooooooooon...
"Moriarty" out.
